88048 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 20, 2023 / Notices 

applies to areas that do not currently 

meet old-growth definitional conditions 

but that have been identified in the 

Adaptive Strategy for Old-Growth Forest 

Conservation as a priority for the future 

contribution of the development of 

those conditions over time. 

For the purposes of fostering an 

increasing trend in the amount, 

representativeness, redundancy, and 

connectivity of old-growth forest 

conditions such that future conditions 

will be resilient and adaptable to 

stressors and likely future 

environments, landscape-level proactive 

stewardship activities should, within 

the scope of meeting other desired 

conditions, and characteristic of the 

ecosystem, be developed for the 

following priorities and purposes: 

(a) To provide landscape-level 

redundancy and representation of oldgrowth conditions such that loss due to 

natural disturbance events does not 

result in a loss or isolation of the oldgrowth conditions at the landscape 

scale. 

(b) To retain and promote the 

development of resilient old-growth 

conditions adjacent to existing oldgrowth forest conditions, including for 

the purposes of reducing fire hazard, 

altering potential fire spread or fire 

severity, or reducing potential insect or 

disease outbreak that may spread to 

adjacent old-growth forest. 

(c) To enhance landscape and patch 

connectivity in forest conditions 

between old-growth condition patches 

where connectivity is poor or oldgrowth patches are isolated. 

(d) To retain and promote the 

development of old-growth conditions 

where current conditions are likely to 

provide old-growth conditions in the 

shortest timeframe possible. 

(e) To retain and promote the 

development of old-growth conditions 

in watersheds, firesheds, or other 

relevant landscape units where existing 

amounts and distributions of old-growth 

conditions lack resilience and 

adaptability to stressors and likely 

future environments. 

(f) To retain and promote the 

development of old-growth conditions 

in areas of likely climate refugia that are 

projected to have the inherent capability 

to sustain old-growth conditions. 

(g) To promote climate adapted 

species assemblages in areas where 

changing climatic conditions are likely 

to alter current conditions and change 

species assemblages over time. 

Plan Monitoring— 

The Chief of the Forest Service is 

responsible for establishing a National 

Old-Growth Monitoring Network for the 

purposes of informing the continued 

implementation and evaluating the 

effectiveness of this amendment, based 

on the initial inventory and remote 

sensing data and other sources of finer 

scale information. The National OldGrowth Monitoring Network will adapt 

to emerging inventory methods, 

regularly update the national inventory 

of mature and old-growth conditions, 

develop analytical processes to interpret 

trend information, and convey findings 

to the field as they relate to 

implementation of the amendment. 

Regions and units will collaborate with 

the Chief’s Office on the development of 

approaches to identify old-growth forest 

conditions and for effectively verifying 

estimated abundances and distributions. 

For plan-level monitoring: 

1. Within two years, identify initial 

criteria indicating where these plan 

components will apply and include 

such identification in the biennial 

monitoring report or the broader scale 

monitoring strategy to be updated as 

conditions change. 

2. Within biennial monitoring 

evaluation reports, provide regular 

updates on actions taken pursuant to 

this amendment and provide updates on 

measurable changes in unit-level oldgrowth forest conditions when new 

information is available. 

3. Add the following questions and 

indicators to plan-level monitoring 

programs: 

a. Question: Are retention, 

development, and proactive 

stewardship activities implemented 

under the Adaptive Old-Growth 

Conservation and Management Strategy 

fostering an increasing trend in the 

amount, representativeness, 

redundancy, and connectivity of oldgrowth forest conditions on the unit? 

i. Indicator: Changes in trends in 

amounts and distributions of old-growth 

forest conditions on the unit. 

b. Question: Are vegetation 

management activities within oldgrowth forest promoting the desired 

composition, structure, pattern, and 

ecological conditions? 

i. Indicator: Changes in composition, 

structure, and patterns related to desired 

ecological conditions in areas affected 

by vegetation management. 

This proposed action and other 

related documents are available for 

comment on the project website at 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/

?project=65356. Additional information 

can be found on the Forest Service 

website for mature and old-growth 

forests at https://www.fs.usda.gov/ 

managing-land/old-growth-forests. 

Thomas J. Vilsack, 

Secretary of Agriculture. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27875 Filed 12–19–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Census Bureau 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; Generic Clearance for 

Internet Panel Pretesting and 

Qualitative Survey Methods Testing 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit the following information 

collection request to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and clearance in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, on or after the date of publication 

of this notice. We invite the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

comment on proposed, and continuing 

information collections, which helps us 

assess the impact of our information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the public’s reporting burden. Public 

comments were previously requested 

via the Federal Register on October 17, 

2023 during a 60-day comment period. 

This notice allows for an additional 30 

days for public comments. 

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau, 

Department of Commerce. 

Title: Generic Clearance for internet 

Panel Pretesting and Qualitative Survey 

Methods Testing. 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0978. 

Form Number(s): TBD. 

Type of Request: Regular submission, 

Request for an Extension, without 

Change, of a Currently Approved 

Collection. 

Number of Respondents: 67,600. 

Average Hours per Response: 0.25 

hours. 

Burden Hours: 16,900. 

Needs and Uses: The information 

collected in this program of developing 

and testing questionnaires will be used 

by staff from the Census Bureau and 

sponsoring agencies to evaluate and 

improve the quality of the data in the 

surveys and censuses that are ultimately 

conducted. Because the questionnaires 

being tested under this clearance are 

still in the process of development, the 

data that result from these collections 

are not considered official statistics of 

the Census Bureau or other Federal 

agencies. Data will be included in 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 20, 2023 / Notices 88049 

research reports prepared for sponsors 

inside and outside of the Census 

Bureau. The results may also be 

prepared for presentations related to 

survey methodology at professional 

meetings or publications in professional 

journals. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households. 

Frequency: Once. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: Data collection for 

this project is authorized under the 

authorizing legislation for the 

questionnaire being tested. This may be 

Title 13, Sections 131, 141, 161, 181, 

182, 193, and 301 for Census Bureausponsored surveys, and Title 13, Section 

8(b) and Title 15 for surveys sponsored 

by other Federal agencies. We do not 

now know what other titles will be 

referenced, since we do not know what 

survey questionnaires will be pretested 

during the course of the clearance. 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. 

Follow the instructions to view the 

Department of Commerce collections 

currently under review by OMB. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted within 30 days of the 

publication of this notice on the 

following website www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection by 

selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 

by using the search function and 

entering either the title of the collection 

or the OMB Control Number 0607–0978. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28005 Filed 12–19–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of Industry and Security 

[Docket No. 231208–0291] 

RIN 0694–XC103 

Impact of the Implementation of the 

Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) 

on Legitimate Commercial Chemical, 

Biotechnology, and Pharmaceutical 

Activities Involving ‘‘Schedule 1’’ 

Chemicals (Including ‘‘Schedule 1’’ 

Chemicals Produced as Intermediates) 

During Calendar Year 2023 

AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and 

Security, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of inquiry. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Industry and 

Security is seeking public comments on 

the impact that the implementation of 

the Chemical Weapons Convention, 

through the Chemical Weapons 

Convention Implementation Act of 1998 

and the Chemical Weapons Convention 

Regulations, has had on commercial 

activities involving ‘‘Schedule 1’’ 

chemicals during calendar year 2023. 

The purpose of this notice of inquiry is 

to collect information to assist BIS in its 

preparation of the annual certification to 

the Congress on whether the legitimate 

commercial activities and interests of 

chemical, biotechnology, and 

pharmaceutical firms are harmed by 

such implementation. This certification 

is required under Condition 9 of Senate 

Resolution 75 (April 24, 1997), in which 

the Senate gave its advice and consent 

to the ratification of the Chemical 

Weapons Convention. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

January 19, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on this rule may 

be submitted to the Federal rulemaking 

portal https://www.regulations.gov. The 

regulations.gov ID for this rule is: BIS– 

2023–0039. Please refer to RIN 0694– 

XC103 in all comments. 

All filers using the portal should use 

the name of the person or entity 

submitting the comments as the name of 

their files, in accordance with the 

instructions below. Anyone submitting 

business confidential information 

should clearly identify the business 

confidential portion at the time of 

submission, file a statement justifying 

nondisclosure and referring to the 

specific legal authority claimed, and 

provide a non-confidential version of 

the submission. 

For comments submitted 

electronically containing business 

confidential information, the file name 

of the business confidential version 

should begin with the characters ‘‘BC.’’ 

Any page containing business 

confidential information must be clearly 

marked ‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ 

on the top of that page. The 

corresponding non-confidential version 

of those comments must be clearly 

marked ‘‘PUBLIC.’’ The file name of the 

non-confidential version should begin 

with the character ‘‘P.’’ Any 

submissions with file names that do not 

begin with either a ‘‘BC’’ or a ‘‘P’’ will 

be assumed to be public and will be 

made publicly available through https:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Commenters submitting business 

confidential information are encouraged 

to scan a hard copy of the nonconfidential version to create an image 

of the file, rather than submitting a 

digital copy with redactions applied, to 

avoid inadvertent redaction errors 

which could enable the public to read 

business confidential information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions on the Chemical Weapons 

Convention requirements for ‘‘Schedule 

1’’ chemicals, contact James Truske, 

Treaty Compliance Division, (202) 482– 

2509, Email: james.truske@bis.doc.gov. 

For questions on the submission of 

comments, contact Logan Norton, 

Regulatory Policy Division, Email: 

RPD2@bis.doc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Convention on the Prohibition of 

the Development, Production, 

Stockpiling, and Use of Chemical 

Weapons and Their Destruction, 

commonly called the Chemical 

Weapons Convention (CWC or ‘‘the 

Convention’’) is an international arms 

control treaty that seeks to eliminate 

chemical weapons through requiring 

ratifying countries (States Parties) to 

prohibit the development, production, 

acquisition, stockpiling, retention, and 

transfer of chemical weapons. The CWC 

imposes certain obligations on States 

Parties, among which are the enactment 

of legislation to implement the treaty’s 

prohibitions. In the United States, the 

Chemical Weapons Convention 

Implementation Act of 1998, 22 U.S.C. 

6701 et seq., implements the provisions 

of the CWC. In providing its advice and 

consent to the ratification of the CWC, 

the Senate included, in Senate 

Resolution 75 (S. Res. 75, April 24, 

1997), several conditions to its 

ratification. Condition 9, titled 

‘‘Protection of Advanced 

Biotechnology,’’ calls for the President 

to certify to Congress on an annual basis 

that ‘‘the legitimate commercial 

activities and interests of chemical, 

biotechnology, and pharmaceutical 

firms in the United States are not being 

significantly harmed by the limitations 

of the Convention on access to, and 

production of, those chemicals and 

toxins listed in Schedule 1.’’ On July 8, 

2004, President George W. Bush, by 

Executive Order 13346, delegated his 

authority to make the annual 

certification to the Secretary of 

Commerce. 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals consist of 

those toxic chemicals and precursors set 

forth in the CWC ‘‘Annex on 

Chemicals’’ and in ‘‘Supplement No. 1 

to part 712—SCHEDULE 1 

CHEMICALS’’ of the Chemical Weapons 

Convention Regulations (CWCR) (15 

CFR parts 710–722). The CWC 

identified these toxic chemicals and 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1